I was listening to this other podcast (I know... blasphemy. It won't happen again. Trust me.) and they were discussing whether game reviews really impact the success of games. The head jackass in charge actually said, "...most gamers don't even read reviews." What? Can you even call yourself a "True Gamer" if you don't do your homework (review, demo, and/or video) before you blow your hard earned cash on a new game?

Anyway, this got me Wondering... how do YOU use reviews? Personally, I like reviews that are console biased... c'mon does anyone wanna hear a PSFanboy's opinion of Gears Of War 2? But reviews are a very small part of my choice. I prefer demos or renting first. That way I get to form my own opinion.
Pixel Junk Eden = :thumbsup:
Too Human = :sad:
Boom Blox = :w00t:

What about you guys?

Not at all, if I like a game, I don't care how many fish out of 7 it got. Other peoples opinions have no effect on my enjoyment of a piece of media.

I usually check what GameInformer has to say to see if a game is any good. Smart guys, but they mess up sometimes. (They gave MGS4 a 10, but it's not exactly a perfect game IMO, like CoD4.)

To an extent, yes, and only when I can trust the reviewers opinion (ie when I have seen other games they have reccommended or disliked that I liked or disliked accordingly). I trust myself the most.

I actually am very much influenced by game reviews. I don't have too much money to spend on gaming so I like to be informed on what I'm buying. Though if a game has enough pros but has a bad review I may rent it to finalize my decision.

i am usually recommended or i know i want a game no matter what. The demo is more make or break for me

I actually am very much influenced by game reviews. I don't have too much money to spend on gaming so I like to be informed on what I'm buying. Though if a game has enough pros but has a bad review I may rent it to finalize my decision.

How often have you bought a game that just wasn't what you were expecting?:sad: Does it piss you off? Or do you force yourself to like it?

Its hard to say

now days when a game comes out the reviwers are like lemings and follow the big sites
is gta4 really the best game of all time? or was it a fad between reviewers

and does too human really suck? or is it a media frenzy picking on minor factors

How often have you bought a game that just wasn't what you were expecting?:sad: Does it piss you off? Or do you force yourself to like it?

Well a few really, thats why I tend to listen to other's opinions or rent the game to see for myself. It does piss me off a bit so I wait a bit. I never force myself to like a game because thats not really what I call "fun."

I'm not influenced by any single review, but I do drop by MetaCritic to check whether or not to buy games I'm not too sure about.

I do like to read them. Looking at the back of the game box just does not cut it anymore (it hasn't since the NES days).

Like Katana said, games are expensive these days and I want my 60.00 worth. Can you imagine how upset I would be if I had bought HAZE because of the hype without reading the reviews?

I like the player reviews on gamefaqs the most. Some are biased, but there are so many of them that I can pick up on good or bad consistencies.

I will read reviews especially if its a new game starting a new IP (if that the right term)., like Too Human. If its GTA IV for example, I've played the previous, I liked them, so I buy it regardless.

mainly, i have already made my mind up about the game, as to whether i will purchase it or not. By the time the review comes out, ive already seen enough gameplay, and have listened to podcasts where they have had hands on time with the game, so the review is nothing new to me.

Obviously a review for me either solidifies a view, or i don't listen to it :P

It really depends for me. If I am on the edge with a game, not sure if I want to buy it or not and I see a review, that review will probably make me go one way or another. Then again, if I am really looking forward to a game, I will probably get it regardless of the review (unless it gets like 1 out of 10 scores from everyone).

It really depends for me. If I am on the edge with a game, not sure if I want to buy it or not and I see a review, that review will probably make me go one way or another. Then again, if I am really looking forward to a game, I will probably get it regardless of the review (unless it gets like 1 out of 10 scores from everyone).

that pretty much sums it up. I really wanted Too Human, would have got it regardless of the reviews, but then I played the demo... not a bad game, just not my thing. I'm not buying it anytime soon, but my kid loves it... so I'll probably pick it up on the cheap in a couple of months anyway.

A games review score doesn't matter to me but I am usually informed of a game before hand, whether it is from demos, previews of the game or just the hype a game is receiving.

Very much so. I check about 3-5 different sites and then watch as much gameplay footage as I can before I buy anything. I don't care so much about the reveiw score but more so the article and descripsions.

Usually when it comes to simply playing a game, which usually means renting, I'll go by the reviews. I usually like X-Play's reviews as they are pretty honest, so if give a game that I wouldn't have considered otherwise a 4 out of 5, I'll give it a rent. However, when I choose whether or not to buy a game, I also take other factors into account (mainly replayability) in addition to reviews.

Game reviews don't faze me or influence me one bit. I like to pass my own judgement and try to see the game from a different point of view or erase my mindset entirely unless it's an IP that I adore.

Which is why I paid actual money for History Channel: Civil War. It did some things right... like being able to hit buttons and do stuff, and there was sound. Plenty of sounds... and... people got hurt and died... I also have wanted an FPS to feature muskets and a good choice of black powder weapons, and Civil War delivered on that front. If they took the time to polish it, rework some of the scripting, and add in a non buggy multiplayer it would definitely be something akin to a topaz in the rough.

Once I find a game that interests me I tend to do my research and while I do listen to reviews a little the articles, videos and, demos (if any) tend to weigh much heavier on my decision. If a game really interests me I tend to follow it for at least 4 months before it's released.

With the fall line up for the PS3 and the 360 being packed full of so many good looking games I've had to get rather picky about what games I'm getting because I just don't have enough money for all of them. The other trick is that since I own both platforms I have to figure out which system I'm going to get most games for since most games are for both now. Since not all cross platformers are created equal it's even more important to know which one is better for what I want.

I would be lying if I said reviews didn't have a significant impact on which games I purchase. If a game gets below a seven (or the equivalent), I am usually reluctant to purchase it. Even if I have been looking forward to it (Lair). I usually rent games below that threshold. Over the years, I have found that I generally agree with the aggregate scores from the gaming press. Anyone who says they are not influenced by reviews by some measure is a liar or a fool. If a game gets an aggregate score of 1 out of 10 you aren't going to buy the game. You might rent it, but you won't spend $60 on it. At least I hope you wouldn't.

Oh, and you DO realize Game Informer is owned by Gamestop right? Not exactly the best source for unbiased reviews.

There still pretty accurate though. I like to take off one point from their total score and that useally avarages what other people say. Same for OXM.

A little ... I like to read some reviews, but since i have a rental plan, I usually will rent just about any and all Xbox 360 games. DS games a bit harder, since I can't rent them at the video store.

When I read reviews the first thing I look at is the score. If the score is lower than what I had thought it would get, I'll read the review to find out why. A game like Heavenly Sword is a great example. Generally what I look for in reviews are the problems the game has. If they are issues that seem minor to me, such as game length, weak multiplayer (multiplayer is a secondary feature for me), ect ect, I'll probably still get the game if I'm interested in it. If I read multiple reviews and they all talk about the same glaring flaws, I'll probably hold off on that game until it's patched or I can get it on the cheap. As with Heavenly Sword I mentioned earlier, reviews were all over the place. I didn't see anything in the reviews that I thought would hinder my enjoyment of the game too much, so I got it, and I'm damn glad I did. It's one of the best under 10 hour games I've ever played, and to this day I've yet to see better facial animation in any game. Basically I read reviews, but they are only a rough guidline to get a feel for the overall quality of said game. They rarely influence my decision enough to go one way or the other with regards to a game purchase.

A little. Had it not been for the horrible reviews I so would have bought Haze (Free Radicle how could you have failed me so????) I also only trust certian websites/magazines. IGN, Game informer, Playstation mag, Gamepro, and SG.
I used to follow metacritic to the word but I relized a few months ago how stupid it is that the scores are influenced by crappy sources. Since when is the Washington post an expert on games???

I use game reviews to tell if a game is worth a chance or just an epic fail. I.E., if a game scores like a 2 on IGN, I'm probably not going to give it a try since I trust reviews enough to give a horrible game a horrible score. But for the 'average games'. Like 7-8, I'll give a game try based on my personal preferences in games (RPGs often then not get the nod, 'average' scoring FPS's I ignore since I'm not crazy about them).

Game review have very little to do with my game selection. Usually, I'm the one who ends up reviewing it, in the end.
If I think a game is good from a few gameplay vids, I'll get it. If I'm skeptical, I'll look at maybe one or two reviews, or maybe ask a few other gamers thier opinion.
But more often than not, I've decided months in advance wether or not I'll get the game. This actually applies to near enough all my library.

I rarely read reviews of games, I usually just rent them see for myself and if I liked it I buy it. The only reviews I read are ones just talking about the pros and cons, reviews that give a game a number out of 10 or something I think is stupid.

Reviews usually play a significant part in whether i buy a game or not. It just seems like common sense to take into account other people's "professional" opinion of a game that you're going to spend $60 on.

And as someone else said, there are a lot of interesting new releases on the PS3 coming up, and inevitably we're going to have to make choices on which to get and which not to. One example i have is that i've been looking forward to SW: Force Unleashed and PoP for a while now. But it seems like overkill if i get both, so the reviews of each will certainly weigh in on any decision i make in the future.

Not at all.

Reviews are someone else's opinion. I will read a review if it is A)informative B)entertaining, or C)interesting, but I don't particularly let it influence what I see or not see, or what I play or not play. I know I have very specific tastes, some which don't line up with the "popular" reviews, so at the end of the day I don't see myself really buying into reviews as a whole.

If I'm looking forward to a game a lot and it gets bad reviews, I might not buy it. Great reviews will also influence me to buy a game.

Not at all. They are usually somewhat biased (aside from the GCN reviews, since they're not corporate). And just look at Too Human; which review would "influence" you.

I actually look at many different reviews of people I usually trust and have the same likes as I do. Then I will get the general publics/forums views on the game, if I am still not satisfied then I will look up videos and the such.

Reviews don't affect me, I mean I did buy Too Human.

I guess they have a little influence over me, but I usually know which games I'm going to buy for a long time before they're released. I think it's fun, however, to read the reviews of games that I'm not interested in, especially if they suck. :grin:

The reviews would probably influence over all the picks in impulse buy situations, such as bargain bin titles.

i used to buy games that looked good to me on the spot.... as anyone whose ever done that will know after u get over the first 10 minutes u are in for a disappointment...

now i look into the games im interested in, i do this buy asking my friends what they think and also by watching GameTrailers.com video reviews, 95% of the time i agree with them ive found so i have a certain amount of trust in their reviews HOWEVER, i do not go by their scores as they are always very similar i only listen to what the reviewer has to say while watching gameplay clips to see what it looks like. also at least for the rest of this year i know what games im buying on release day and what im going to skip

Just a little. I mean, I read reviews and take there opinions in to consideration but never is that the reason I do or do not buy a game.

If I read five reviews saying a game is truly fantastic, I would probably buy/rent the game out of interest - but at the same time if I like the idea of a game and reviews slate it - I'd still get a hold of it....

They don't really influence me the only rewiewers I actually pay attention to are Game Trailers because they give a good verdict , and good ol' yahtzee because he's just funny as hell.